


maybe we've never only been friends

by goldenkc



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Jam, softies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 08:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18206204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenkc/pseuds/goldenkc
Summary: what if angela wasn't the one to drive pam home after drinking much too much at the annual dundie's event at chili's? what if it was jim? after all, what could possibly come of one friend simply giving another a ride home?





	maybe we've never only been friends

**Author's Note:**

> heyo so i've never written a fic for the office, hope y'all like. this is set closer to the end of s2e1.

Angela's car just pulled up. Pam doesn't remember asking for a ride, but Jim had reminded her she should. She stops him with the car headlights slowly heating them.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?”

Jim faces her, a goofy smile on his face as he responds, “Shoot.”

She pauses, working out what she means to say, but then she glances at the camera over Jim's shoulder and remembers where she is. “Um, I just wanted to say thanks.”

His head wobbles in thought, saying, “Not really a question.” Then he walks her to the passenger door.

She opens it and stops again, remembering she is a grown woman who doesn't need to be fearful of saying what she thinks in front of others. “No,” she says, stomping a foot. “I have a question. Can you take me home?”

Jim is about to answer when Angela's piercing voice shouts, “Then what am _I_ doing here?”

Jim smiles at Pam before he talks to the blonde with his eyes still on Pam, “Go home, Angela.”

She scoffs when Pam closes the car door, and she drives away. Jim walks his friend carefully to his car. They don't speak nearly the whole ride. Pam realizes they're on their way to her home--her home with Roy--when she puts a hand on Jim's forearm. “Can we go to your place?”

He thinks for a minute, knowing he has better judgment than this, but then he turns on his right blinker, taking the roads that'll lead them to his own home.

He parks in his spot, grateful to remember his roommate is at his girlfriend's for the night. Jim walks Pam up his doorstep and into the living room. It's then that he recalls she's never been over, but the look in his eyes makes him think she doesn't care for a tour.

She has a pink blouse on, and a brown skirt that falls to above her knees. She doesn't look at him when she pulls the pin from the back of her head, letting her red curls fall to frame her face.

Jim knows what she's doing. He quickly spins on his heels to loosen the tie at his neck. When he turns back, she's standing much closer than she was before.

She takes a step forward, her head pointed up as her lips behind to pucker. Jim clears his throat, saying, “If you take this any further, you're gonna regret it when you're sober.”

“I'm not drunk anymore, Jim.”

“Well,” he says, dragging out the l like he does when he’s nervous, “you might still be, and drunk-you might just be saying that to get in my pants.”

She gives him that suppressed grin of hers, muttering, “Yeah, maybe.” She barely finishes the word when her lips are on his. She can't help herself. And the small amount of alcohol left in her veins is giving her the courage to do what she's wanted since Jim walked in the door on his first day.

He wants to continue this so badly, but the smarter part of him pushes Pam away--he could only manage an inch.

“You've gotta stop kissing me, Beesly. What about Roy?”

She puts her hands on his cheeks, trying to pull him closer as she says, “Make me forget about Roy.”

He keeps the hand on her abdomen firm, not letting her any closer. “Please, Pam,” he rasps when the top of her head touches at his chin. “Let's not start like this.”

Pam sighs deeply, walking back a few paces. “Start what?” she asks, almost angry without trying to be. “How can we start anything if you keep pushing me away?” She nearly recoils at the hurt look on his face.

“Do you not think I want this? Pam, I've dreamt of this moment for years. Just not when...” he trails off, looking down at his feet.

“Not when what?” she begs, her voice laced with impatience. All she wants is for him to pick her up and throw her on his bed, letting their hands and other limbs doing the talking.

Jim swallows deeply before answering. “Not when you have another man's ring on your finger.”

Pam takes a breath, feeling like she could cry at any moment. “Take me home, Jim,” she says with finality.

He nods, walking her back out the front door. With her instruction to her house, they get there quickly but not quick enough. When he puts the car in park in front of her house, Jim notices lights on, a shadow moving. He then sees the truck in the driveway and sighs.

Pam almost doesn't say anything, but she has to. “I'm sorry,” she says without elaborating, but he understands. She's sorry they couldn't do this, she's sorry for Roy and all the times Jim has to see her kiss him, she's sorry they couldn’t have better timing-- _God_ , do they wish they had better timing.

“Good night,” he says with a nod. She says it back, and he watches her walk up the walkway to the front door that opens with Roy on the other side of it. The big man waves kindly at Jim, a thank you for bringing his fiancée home.

Jim can't get home fast enough.

***

The next day, Pam and Jim avoid each other, and no one else notices. Except for Kevin, who comes up to Jim, 'whispering' at his ear when Pam leaves for the bathroom. “Did she hurt you?” he asks concerned.

Jim gives a small smile, replying, “No, Kev.”

He nods back, holding up a fist to bump, saying, “I got you, man.”

“Thanks, Kev,” Jim says, bumping his fist against Kevin's.

The day after that, Pam seems even quieter.

The day after _that_ , Pam seems happier. She's got this little smile about her that Jim knows means she's holding onto a secret.

Halfway through the day, Pam gets Jim's attention, then she nods her head toward the exit, indicating for him to follow. About 40 seconds after she walks out, he goes, too.

When he rounds the corner, Pam pushes him against the wall, a big smile on her face. She remembers last night. He can tell. Maybe she really wasn't drunk.

She pulls at his tie, almost hungrily. He asks what they're doing. She holds up her right hand. “See this?”

“Dry skin?” he teases.

She smacks his shoulder before she says, “No ring.”

Jim realizes the meaning. A smile begins to form as he asks simply, “Roy?”

She shakes her head, tugging again at the tie. “Can you _please_ kiss me now?”

He nods slowly, happily. He leans forward, kissing her with a force he'd held back for too long. They get lost in each other, surroundings disappearing as they only know now, and these bodies.

Suddenly, there's a crunching noise coming from down the hall, and that's when Jim and Pam quickly straighten out their clothes. Kevin walks around the corner, stopping in his tracks with a bag of his favourite chips in one hand and cheesy dust around the fingers of the other.

He narrows his eyes at the pair, pointing between the two of them with two orange fingertips. “Were you two making out?”

“No,” they replied simultaneously, despite the flushed cheeks and swollen lips.

Kevin nods slowly, eating another chip with, “'Kay.”

When he leaves, Jim and Pam gave each other with smiles and chuckles. Pam puts her hands on Jim's shoulders, saying, “This is going to work.”

Jim nods, replying, “ _This_ is how I want to start this.” He kisses her deeply, pulling back and murmuring against her lips, “And I never wanna end it.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked it please hit that kudos!


End file.
